Japanese multinational railway company Hitachi Rail has acquired ARGO 500 3D printers from Italian OEM Roboze to support the production of prototypes and spare parts.
The rolling stock manufacturer will 3D print spares from high-strength polymers such as ULTEM 9085 and Carbon PEEK.
located at the company’s factories in Italy and the United States, the 3D printers will replace conventional machining methods previously used to fabricate metal parts. This will translate to faster and more cost-effective production, overcoming supply and availability challenges currently facing the railway industry.
The agreement will also see Roboze provide after-sales support in the United States and Italy to keep its new fleet of ARGO 500 systems running.
“Our partnership with ROBOZE underlines our commitment to delivering advanced, high-quality manufacturing for our customers,” commented Luca D’Aquila, COO of Hitachi Rail Group and Hitachi Rail Italy CEO.
“The partnership will enable us to harness 3D printing to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs for producing prototypes and railway spare parts.”
3D printing railway spare parts with the Argo 500
Roboze’s Argo 500 was introduced in 2017. The industrial 3D printer boasts a 500 x 500 x 500 mm Heated chamber that can reach up to 180°C. As such, it can produce metal replacement parts with high-viscosity material such as PEEK, Ultem AM9085F, Carbon PA and carbon fiber-infused PEEK.
To ensure good adhesion between the part and the build plate, the Argo 500 features a vacuum plate system. This is also said to make 3D printing and removal of polymeric films easier and faster. The addition of the Roboze Beltless System ensures part repeatability and mechanical tolerances of 25 microns.
Hitachi Rail will install the 3D printers at its factories in Naples, Italy, and Washington County, Maryland. The latter, a new $70 million rolling stock production facility, will deliver a fleet of 8000-series railcars to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority as its first order. This factory will also draw on the technological expertise of the wider Hitachi Group to become “its most advanced digital site.”
Roboze claims that the new partnership with Hitachi marks a key milestone in its mission to transform the global industrial manufacturing landscape.
“ROBOZE continues to prove itself as a reliable and innovative partner for companies aiming to rethink their production and push the boundaries of progress through technology,” stated Roboze Founder and CEO Alessio Lorusso.
The transport sector adopts 3D printing
The transport sector has increasingly adopted 3D printing to enhance the production of spare parts and optimize supply chains.
Last year, Global transport company MAN Truck & Bus (MAN) integrated Replique’s 3D printing technology into its production strategy. The partnership has seen the two companies collaborate to 3D print spare parts locally and on demand, removing the need for physical inventories.
MAN realised the value of additive manufacturing when it urgently required ten bronze manifolds and the essential casting mold was unavailable. The firm recognized that creating a new mold with conventional casting and machining methods would be costly and time-consuming, so turned to Replique for a more efficient solution.
Leveraging Selective Laser Melting (SLM), MAN and Replique successfully reproduced the 10 manifolds with just a 3D model and a manufacturing drawing. The entire process, from MAN’s inquiry to the delivery of ready-to-install parts, took about 7 weeks.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany’s national railway company, adopted Essentium, Inc. High-Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D printer and high-performance materials to produce 3D printed train parts and tools.
According to Essentium, this will allow DB to increase the availability of its fleet by allowing key components to be replaced quickly and efficiently. Significantly, 3D printing will allow DB to overcome supply chain challenges and raw material shortages for obsolete parts.
Essentium’s 3D printer and materials are being utilized with DB’s digital warehouse. This houses around 1,000 virtual technical drawings of spare parts, a number which DB hopes will increase to 10,000 by 2030.
Want to help select the winners of the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Join the Expert Committee today.
What does the future of 3D printing hold?
What near-term 3D printing trends have been highlighted by industry experts?
Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up to date with the latest 3D printing news.
You can also follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.
Featured image shows class 800 rolling stock built by Hitachi Rail. Image via Hitachi Rail.
